Founding Head of Product, New Ventures

About the role

Brightwheel is actively searching for an AI-native product leader to spearhead the creation of new business lines directly within our early education platform ecosystem. You will function with founder-level ownership, taking full responsibility for spotting market opportunities and converting them into tangible products that serve our customers. This role demands a hands-on builder who leverages modern tools and AI capabilities to compress development cycles and accelerate learning. You will report directly to the CEO, operating with a high degree of autonomy to define the vision and execution strategy for ventures that could define the next chapter of the company. The position requires an individual who thrives on ambiguity and is comfortable navigating uncharted territory without a predefined playbook. Success in this role will be measured by your ability to transform abstract ideas into validated, scalable business models that contribute meaningfully to the broader Brightwheel ecosystem. You must be a proactive leader who uses data and experimentation to drive decisions rather than relying on legacy methods or conventional wisdom.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Orchestrate the end-to-end lifecycle of new ventures, moving from raw ideation to a scalable product that achieves market adoption.
• Lead intensive customer discovery sessions to uncover latent needs and translate qualitative insights into concrete product requirements.
• Rapidly construct minimum viable products using AI-native tools and contemporary software stacks to test hypotheses with real users.
• Analyze feedback loops meticulously to iterate on features and refine the user experience until product-market fit is evident.
• Own the business model design for each venture, including pricing strategy, value proposition articulation, and unit economics validation.
• Serve as the primary liaison between the new ventures and the executive team, ensuring strategic alignment and clear communication of progress.
• Prepare concise performance reports for the board, highlighting key metrics, learnings, and pivot or persevere recommendations.
• Recruit, assemble, and lead a lean team as specific ventures transition from exploration to formal product lines requiring dedicated resources.
• Establish rigorous experimentation frameworks that utilize AI to boost the speed of development, testing, and cross-functional collaboration.
• Define and monitor North Star metrics to ensure that new ventures are not only innovative but also economically sustainable at scale.
• Champion a culture of rigorous hypothesis testing, where assumptions are challenged and validated through constant user interaction.
• Identify adjacent market opportunities and assess whether they warrant the launch of additional spin-off ventures under the Brightwheel umbrella.
• Partner with design and engineering leads to ensure that technical feasibility and user-centered design principles are upheld throughout the process.
• Act as the chief evangelist for the venture, building internal buy-in and securing the resources necessary to achieve ambitious milestones.

Requirements

• You have a documented history of successfully building products that deliver significant value to customers and are adopted in the market.
• You possess a track record of taking initiatives from a nascent idea to a launched product, ideally having operated as a founder or early-stage employee in a previous role.
• You are capable of managing the full scope of business ownership, which includes setting pricing, defining the value proposition, and constructing financial models.
• You have hands-on experience leveraging AI tools and workflows to enhance development speed and amplify output across design, engineering, and analysis functions.
• You can communicate complex concepts clearly and persuasively to diverse stakeholders, aligning teams around a common vision and motivating them toward execution.
• You are legally authorized to work in the United States, and relocation to a specific city is not required or supported for this position.
• You thrive in environments where established processes are absent, and you can maintain productivity and clarity without structured guidance.
• You understand that security and privacy are paramount, and you will adhere strictly to company protocols regarding the handling of sensitive information.

Nice to have

• You bring multidisciplinary expertise that spans product design, software engineering, and data analysis, allowing you to converse fluently with specialists in each domain.
• You excel in high-ambiguity scenarios by making decisions based on available data and sound judgment even when playbooks do not exist.

Skills & tools

• AI-driven product development
• Prototyping and rapid iteration
• Business modeling and unit economics
• Cross-functional leadership

Practical notes

Brightwheel is an equal opportunity employer. All official communication originates from @mybrightwheel.com email addresses. The company will never request payment or sensitive personal information during the recruitment process. Report suspicious activity to security@mybrightwheel.com.